Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 8:09 PM
Subject: toyota truck

I just ran across a real clean 1992 Toyota 4x4 it's the deluxe not the SR5. It has 123,000 miles, but not a scratch on it. What can you tell me about engine life, transmission problems, general overall comments on the vehicle. Also,what reasonable price should the guy be asking?

Hi B,
The original Toy trucks were the best. When Toyota decided they had to have a name for their truck and called them Tacoma in the mid 90's they lost something. It was then that Consumer Reports placed Ford Ranger on top of the compact truck category. So the Toyota trucks in the year you are looking at are the best you can buy in the little trucks. They usually sell well too. I would see what the average guy is asking in the local paper to see what price is normal. There are a lot of those trucks to go 500,000 or more miles. 123,000 miles is just braking in. They don't have a lot of power and I wouldn't pull much with it. Japanese trucks have had aluminum heads the longest so be aware of your temperature gauge. If you let one get hot whether it's caused by a water leak or water pump, you can warp the head. Try and find out from the owner if they changed the head gasket and timing chain. I think my Toyota truck from the 80's had a 22R 4 cylinder engine. I never could wear it out so I finally sold it. Good Luck. Kent (MrTruck)

#8 January 19, 2001 3:24 PM
Subject: ford explorer

I have a Ford Explorer. It has a transmission problem. When you let up on the accelerator it free wheels. If I pull a trailer in the hills it won't hold back. Am I wrong to think I can pull a trailer with an automatic ? Sport UTILITY may be a miss term. A man from a transmission shop said the transmission is too small to do any pulling. also has about the same tranny as an escort. Bad News. The problem I am having may not need the whole tranny to be overhauled however tranny shops will do the whole thing needed or not. I am thinking of buying a dodge. Do you have an opinion ? Thanks
D. R.
ps.it happened at about 90 000

Hi D.,

It sounds like your torque converter is going out or leaking oil. How much you can pull depends on a lot of things. The vehicle needs to have a transmission cooler and the right axle ratio. An Explorer equipped right can pull 6000#. They have leaf springs on the rear axle which helps stabilize a trailer. A lot of SUV's have coil springs on the rear axle which tends to sway more. In my experience if a vehicle is equipped right an automatic will
give you less problems than the clutches you'll replace. The EPA took the Asbestos out of the clutches, so they don't have the friction properties they use too. The torque converter on the automatic transmission also doubles the torque coming out of the engine. And the newer automatics have a lock up torque converter that's locks up mechanically like a clutch and pressure plate do. You will want to get your torque converter replaced or
some day the free wheeling will be all it will do and it's a lot cheaper and easier than replacing the clutch packs and pumps. Good Luck. (MrTruck)

December 30, 2000 4:38 PM Subject: decisions, decisions

> Hi,
>
> I'm a general contractor here in Hawaii and need a knowledgeable comparison of Ford, Dodge & Chevy in a awed full-size. I will be putting racks on it, but won't be trailering anything so either 6 cyl or v-8 should work for me; I have a beat-up '91 F-150, 6 cyl that my workers drive, no problems with that vehicle, rebuilt engine at 120,000, but am considering the Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab v-8 automatic (prefer std but nobody here sells it) Any info or preferences among these 3 manufacturers or any reason I should be wary of the Dodge? Would appreciate your comments.
> D. Maui
>
Hi David

I think you would be fine with the Dodge. It should be the cheapest of the three. Consumer Reports says that the Ford F150 is the best in class. In the 1/2 ton truck they are all pretty close. I personally like the Dodge 5.2L v-8, the 318 cu. On my web site I have answered emails comparing the three in 3/4 ton and larger. Chevy has been the best riding truck for decades. But in the 1/2 ton class you can get a long life out of any of them. Even the 4wd systems aren't that different. Save your money get the Dodge. They haven't had any major changes in years so they should have rebates and good prices. Here in Denver CO you can buy them for invoice minus the rebates.
Good Luck and a Happy New Year. MrTruck

Dear Mr. Truck,
> Please subscribe me to your newslettter.
It's time to replace my '91 Toyota Xcab, which served me
extremely well for 9 years. I'd buy the new Tundra today, BUT the i-Force V8 is not available with a Manual Transmission! What to do?
> 1. Get the Tundra V6 ... No, I don't want to limp up hills.
> 2. Get the Tundra V8 and live with the auto tranny.
> 3. Get an F-250 XLT SuperCab Short Bed / 4x4 / 5.4 Triton V8 / 5-speed
Why not an F-150? I really don't like the body style. The F-250 is
probably more truck than I really need, but I can get it built just how I want it. I do a lot of mountain driving (thus the desire for a manual trans), and only tow infrequently -- small utility trailers, work equipment, or a ski boat. Also, if I go to Ford's buyerconnection and have the F-250 built as I like it, what should I know? What should I watch out for? They deliver it through the local dealer which I choose. How much does the dealer mark it up? If I'm looking at an MSRP of $30,030, how much will I really pay?
> Thanks for any thoughts you might provide.
> `jimb
>
Hi Jim,

Your 91 Toyota X-cab is one of those trucks that was built to last. I wish Toyota did that good of a job on the Tacoma. Toyota still makes quality trucks; just a notch lower as you can read about in Consumer Reports. When I was an auto broker for AAA, I sold several Tacoma's. Maybe Toyota just built the original "truck" to good! As with Super Bowl's nobody has won 3 in a row. Looking at Toyota's T-100 and the new Tundra, it would appear as if
Toyota was trying to use the same frame for all the SUV's and trucks. Why is the rear axle right behind the cab? With as much rear hangover behind the axle, before you finally get to the rear bumper, I would think that would put undo pressure on the truck frame when pulling a heavy load. And I don't like how straight up and down the rear seat is on the Extended cab or the new crew cab. You would think that an extra 4 inches would do wonders for
how long you could ride in the back seat.

Kent, I have a 1976 Chevy 3/4 ton 4X4 with the 400 cid engine and auto tranny. I bought the truck new and it has only has 50,000 miles on it and runs great. However, I'm a bit concerned about the dual saddlebag gas tanks . . . they are apparently known to catch on fire or blow up during crashes . . . GMC has sent me a $1,000 check to use if I purchase a new GMC product. Do you know of any way to either make these tanks safe or to replace them with another gas tank? I've thought about buying the new Chevy diesel pickup . . . but am not excited about the aluminum heads . . . had those in a couple of Peugeot cars many years ago and they were always blowing head gaskets. I'll eventually be pulling a 34' Holiday Rambler trailer (has an aluminum frame and weighs around 8,000 lbs. loaded I think). Thanks for the help! . . . Ron P.

Thanks again,

Ron P.

"Hi Ron, Thanks for reading my web site. The Sir Cam virus as caused problems to my site. I correct them when I find them. Thanks for pointing out the guestbook. I had a 77 Chevy C30 with dual tanks. I lined up my 500-gallon fuel tanks on the farm so I could drive in the middle and fill both tanks without running the hose under or over. The concern I would have is the settlement GM had over those gas tank fires, with the government, might hinder you in the future if you were to have an accident. This might make it hard to even get help from your own insurance company in case of an accident. This would also hamper you from getting a shop to install different gas tanks. On my 1977 C30 Chevy, I put an 8 ½’ by 9’ steel flatbed. It had a recessed ball, headache rack and rear hitch. This was made of heavy channel iron and deck plate. It was stronger than any part of the truck. It weighed 1000 #’s more than the factory bed. This was great as it took the bounce out of the truck when empty. My truck was a dually and back then an empty truck was like riding a basketball. You could use that GMC $1000 rebate to buy a new 2500 GMC with the 8.1L V-8 gas motor with the Allison Automatic. They have 0% interest on 36 months. And that large gas engine isn’t selling to well because of the gas mileage, so you should get an invoice deal plus the $1000 off from the settlement. If you can afford that option, you would be getting 4-wheel disc brakes, fuel injection, a quieter cab and probably the same gas mileage you are getting now. Your 8000# trailer shouldn’t hurt the tranny or the truck. You’ll enjoy filling up the gas tank from one side too! For a limited time GM is offering 4.9% interest on used trucks too. All these great options. Good Luck MT"

Kent, I appreciate the information. I was hoping to get something that got a little better mileage than the old ’76 . . . I’m lucky to get 8-9 mpg on that rig when pulling something and not much difference when running empty . . . can almost see the fuel gauge going down! Have you heard if the diesel does much better . . . if I wait a few months maybe they’ll get the “bugs” out? I assume that the standard 6000 gas would get better mileage but it might be a little light for my trailer? Although, most of my towing will be with a fishing/cruising boat that weighs about 4000 lbs. Thanks . . . Ron

Hi Ron, with 4000#’s of trailer you would be fine with the 6.0L, V-8 gas and the Duramax diesel on an empty truck should get 18 to 20 mpg. But the smaller 6.0L gas engine should get 15 mpg with a higher rear axle. My 77 Chevy C30 had and 454 cu and a 455 rear axle. I too could watch the gas gauge go down. Good Truckin, MT

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MrTruck,

Mr. Truck,

Thank's for the great recource.

I've got a question. I recently bought at auction an 86 Chevy C30 1ton, crewcab, dually.

It's got the carburated 454.

In order to get this to run, and off the lot and home, I did several things.

To make this short, I've pulled and rebuilt the Rochester Quadrajet, installed a new fuel pump, pulled and replaced the passenger side 20 gal. tank,(and the frame mounts) and bi-passed the crossover system for the two tanks. Some new fuel hoses and new clamps everywhere, and it runs great, I drive it every day.

Heres' the question, I'm seeing only about 5 MPG, I read your own post and see this problem isn't just mine, is there anything I can do to bring this mileage up? Or am I doomed to fill up to the toon of $12.00 dollars (or so) a day?

Thanks.

That's a tough one, mine got about 5 mpg towing a trailer. I had the 4.55 rear end so I could farm with it. If you've got that low of axle ratio with a carburator, it may not improve. A fuel injected throttle body intake might help and straight exhaust or low restriction mufflers. Then you've do headers and all, but all this may still only help by 2 to 3 mpg. I say the fuel injection throttle body would help the most.

Mr. Truck,

Thank's for the quick reply. I'm very happy that my C30 can cruise at 65 (or higher)very nicely, so the gearing must be lot's (higher?) than your's was. I don't know what the gearing is yet.

quote:

Originally posted by MrTruck:Originally posted by MrTruck:
That's a tough one, mine got about 5 mpg towing a trailer. I had the 4.55 rear end so I could farm with it. ....
A fuel injected throttle body intake might help and straight exhaust or low restriction mufflers.

I'll think about your idea of fuel-injecting, frankly I was glad to get back to the more hands-on and familiar 4 barrel Carburated engine from yester-year that I'm comfortable fooling with.

I've thought about putting headers on and may do that, I want a more muscular sound, maybe different mufflers can give that as well.

A friend had the idea that the carb might be set too lean?? I would think that setting it to run rich would only cause worse mileage.

Any more thoughts about that would be appreciated.

Carl, pull your plugs and read them, clean them and run them for a day and do it again. What do they look like ?? Got a timing light ?? Check the timing. Get the exhaust system checked, or just replace it. Could be super-restrictive. Have you done a complete tune-up yet ?? Air filter, PCV valve, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, etc ?? Sounds like something's going on...

MrTruck's idea of swapping an f.i. system is spot-on, but I'll go one step further and recommend a multiport systm. Holley, Edelbrock and others have stand-alone systems that come with a tuner and are super easy to use. That will net your biggest gain (barring an actual problem).

To check your gear ratio, mark the drive shaft and wheel and count how many spins of the drive shaft to make one revolution of the wheel.

Good luck. Let us know what you find.
Eric B. aka MrQuadrasteer